Banyan Roots
Banyan Roots is a podcast series in which songs and discussions from the Baul and Fakir, musical mystics of West Bengal, India and Bangladesh, guide conversations on history, ethnomusicology, and spirituality. Come curious listeners—musicians, scholars, spiritual seekers, and anyone drawn to traditional music and living devotional practices.
Featuring original field recordings of spontaneous jams and interviews with Baul musicians and teachers, each episode explores different themes of Baul philosophy - from awareness of the body and the breath, to the tangled roots of Bengal’s devotional traditions: Vaishnava Kirtan, Sufi Qawwali, and even traces of Vajrayana Buddhism. Listeners will be taken on an immersive journey through the remote villages of Bengal, experiencing aurally the chaotic streets, the heated debates, and the intoxicated mad music.
Banyan Roots is produced by Gene Nemirovsky and distributed by Amplisounds Radio.
Listen on:
Episodes
Saturday Jan 17, 2026
Saturday Jan 17, 2026
This first episode explores Deho Twatto “theory of the body” in the Baul context, where the body itself is the starting point for spiritual understanding.
Songs:
Baul Howa Sohoj Kotha NoyComposer: Kangal HorinathSinger: Babu Fakir
Khachar Bhitor Ochin PakhiComposer: Lalon FakirSinger: Selina Fakirini
Chirodin Pushilam Ek Ochin PakhiComposer: Lalon FakirSinger: Nurbaba
Phaki Deowa Pakhi Re TorComposer: Ammulyo SarkarSinger: Uttora Baidya
Instrumentals:
Jekhane Shai’r Baramkhana
Composer: Lalon Fakir
Dotara Player: Amirul Fakir
Gram Chhara
Composer: Rabindranath TagoreDotara Player: Amirul Fakir
Khachar Bhitor Ochin Pakhi
Composer: Lalon Fakir
Violinist: Lucia Thomas
Painting credit: Dipshikha Debnath
For photos and more info please visit Amplisoundsradio
Many thanks to Biplab Ghosh, Arnab Sengupta, Rina and Manosij Goswami for help in the field, to Gene Nemirovsky for audio engineering, to the Fulbright-Nehru program and to all the musicians and teachers who recorded for this show.